Systems, methods and computer program products for collaborative learning

ABSTRACT

A collaborative learning system, method and computer program product permits live, real time interaction between the audience and a presenter in a controlled learning environment. The collaborative learning system, method and computer program product provides a learning process that facilitates the transfer of expertise and knowledge using “push” technology. The system includes a presenter subsystem, a backbone subsystem and an audience subsystem. The process includes pre-event, event and post-event stages. During the pre-event stage, content is created and optimized, and the producer “coaches” the presenter. During the event stage, the presenter and the producer, using the presenter subsystem, push the event material to the audience located remotely at the audience subsystem via the backbone subsystem. The event materials may comprise slides, streaming audio/video and interactive answers to questions and responses to audience feedback. During the post-event stage, follow-up materials are prepared and presented to the audience, case studies are analyzed and the results are presented to the audience, and the event and related documents are “chunked” and archived for later retrieval on demand via a microsite.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/150,223, filed Aug. 23, 1999, and the benefit of U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/643,404, filed Aug. 22, 2000, both of which are incorporatedherein in their entirety by reference. This application is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/643,404, now U.S. Pat. No.6,397,036.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to systems, methods and computer program productsused for learning, and more particularly, to systems, methods andcomputer program products used to increase the effectiveness ofcollaborative learning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, training of employees and others occurred in a classroomsetting. Trainers, instructors and presenters (collectively “presenter”)utilized various equipment, including chalkboards, overhead projectorsand even computers that interact with overhead projectors, fordelivering training sessions and other presentations (e.g. lectures,continuing education and sales presentations) to an audience. Theaudience typically is located in the same room as the presenter. Theadvantage of this situation is that it permits interaction between thepresenter and the audience. The disadvantage, on the other hand, is thatit requires either the audience or the presenter to travel to thelocation of the training session which requires the attendees or theiremployers to incur the cost of travel to the presentation location aswell as the loss of productive time due to the travel.

More recently, training and other presentations have taken place over“closed circuit” television to remote audiences. In this situation, theaudiences are located in a different location, even a different city,than the presenter. The presenter presents the visual and audio portionsin the form of a lecture which is broadcast over closed circuittelevision to the various audiences located remotely from the presenter.Training and other presentation materials, in certain circumstances, maybe forwarded to the remote locations in advance of the session such thatthe materials are handed out to the audience at the beginning of thesession. As a result, the audience can refer to the training materialsas the presenter delivers the training lecture on the closed circuitbroadcast. The advantage of the closed circuit television session isthat it avoids the expense and loss of productive time associated withthe attendees traveling to the location of the session. On the otherhand, in the closed circuit session, interaction between the audienceand the presenter typically is nonexistent.

In recent years, with the advent of the Internet and the world wide web,systems used in training and other presentations have improveddramatically. These new training systems have not only increased theeffectiveness of the learning experience but, at the same time, havedecreased the cost of delivering the sessions as well as decreased thecost to attendees in attending the sessions. The materials can bepresented to the audience utilizing the world wide web. In thisenvironment, the presenter is located remotely from the audience. Theaudience may be located in a single location remote from the instructoror the audience may be located at multiple locations with a singleperson located at each of the multiple audience locations. The presenterinteracts with the audience via the Internet.

Alternatively, the presenter can interact with the audience over acombination of the world wide web and telephone. In this instance, thetraining materials are distributed to the audience and accessed by theaudience via the world wide web while the audio portion of the trainingevent takes place via a telephone conference call either with or withoutthe assistance of an operator. As a result, the audience can view thepresentation materials over the world wide web while carrying on aconversation with the presenter via the telephone.

In this environment, the presenter utilizes software available from oneor more vendors, such as, for example, a software “tool” marketed byPlaceware, a software “tool” marketed by Contigo, or a software “tool”available from Web Ex, to prepare the presentation materials.

It also is possible for presenters to utilize another entity to providethe presentation software such as that available from Placeware, Contigoor Web Ex and a telephone operator to implement the training event. As aresult, the conference call provider provides the software as well asthe operator assisted telephone conference call capabilities in additionto the visual presentation in presenting the seminar to the audiencewhich is remotely located from the presenter.

Unfortunately, the prior art systems do not provide the flexibility orthe ability to transfer the information, expertise and knowledge in sucha manner to improve the learning experience. For example, the audiencemay not be able to retain all of the information, expertise andknowledge dispensed during the learning event.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide acollaborative learning system, method and computer program product.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a collaborativelearning system for enhancing the learning experience.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a collaborativelearning system that can be archived and easily accessed for enhancingthe learning experience.

These and other objects are provided according to the present inventionby a collaborative learning system which executes on a computer networksystem utilizing the world wide web and the telephone network. Thecollaborative learning system comprises a number of modules including apre-event module, an event module and a post-event module. The pre-eventmodule prepares the learning materials for the event for delivery by apresenter over the backbone system to an audience which is locatedremotely from the presenter. The event is designed and the content,including the learning materials, for the event is optimized by thepre-event module. The event content, which comprises audio content andvisual content, is designed and optimized by the pre-event module. Thepre-event module also “chunks” the content by categorizing and indexingthe content to improve and optimize the content as well as to enhancethe “on demand” accessibility of the content by the post-event module.

The event module delivers the event over a backbone system to theaudience which is located remotely from the presenter. The backbonesystem comprises a telephone network for delivering the audio contentand a computer network for delivering the visual content of the event.The visual content that is delivered by the event module includesstreaming video and slides. In addition, the event module also receivesquestions from the audience, filters questions from the plurality ofquestions received from the audience, and presents the filteredquestions to the presenter. The event module also provides thepresenter's response to the questions either privately to one or moremembers of the audience or publicly to all members of the audience.Still further, the event module polls the audience as well as presentsresults of the polling to the audience. The questions received by theevent module may be received by telephone, at a web site or viaelectronic mail.

The post-event module creates follow-up training materials and deliversthe follow-up training materials to one or more members of the audienceand also to other individuals or entities that were not members of theaudience for the event. In addition, the post-event module also receivesresponses to the follow-up training materials from one or more membersof the audience. The follow-up training materials may include casestudies, an archived copy of the event which are created by encoding avideo of the event and storing the encoded event video, and documentsrelated to the event which also are stored in association with theencoded event video. The follow-up training materials are stored on amicrosite which permits on demand access twenty-four hours a day, sevendays a week, to the entire archived event as well as to “chunks,” i.e.,targeted portions, of the archived event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction between theaudience participants (e.g., students) and the presenter (e.g.,instructor) of the collaborative learning system, method and computerprogram product.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the collaborative learning system accordingto the present invention illustrating the presenter system or subsystem,the backbone system or subsystem and the audience system or subsystem;

FIG. 3 is a high level block diagram illustrating the pre-event module,event module and post-event module of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the control provided by thepre-event, event and post-event modules according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is alternative block diagram illustrating the pre-event, eventand post-event module operations illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 6-8 are block diagrams illustrating the operations of thepre-event, event and post-event modules, respectively, categorized intodifferent perspectives/viewpoints according to the present invention;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are high level block diagrams illustrating the archivedevent created by the post-event modules;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating exemplary applications andadvantages for the present invention; and

FIGS. 12-13 and 14-20 illustrate two different embodiments of displayscreens that display elements of the event to the presenters and to theaudience in relation to the event during the event and as archivedaccording to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which a preferred embodimentof the invention is shown. This invention may, however, be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiment set forth herein; rather, this embodiment is provided so thatthis disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers referto like elements throughout.

Overview: Collaborative Learning System

The collaborative learning system according to the present inventionprovides a new and improved system, method and computer program productfor improved collaborative learning. FIG. 1 is a block diagramillustrating the interaction between the audience participants (e.g.,students or attendees) and the presenter (e.g., instructor) of thecollaborative learning system, method and computer program productaccording to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a singleinstructor can communicate with multiple students located at one or morelocations. In addition, the students or attendees can communicate withone another.

Referring to FIG. 2, the architecture for the collaborative learningsystem according to the present invention will now be described. Thearchitecture comprises presenter system or subsystem 10, backbone systemor subsystem 20 and audience system or subsystem 30. The presentersubsystem 10 is located remote from the audience subsystem 30. Thepresenter subsystem 10 and the audience subsystem 30 communicate withone another over the backbone subsystem 20. The presenter subsystem 10typically may have one or more processors, a data storage device, adisplay device and an input device. An instructor or presenter 12, andproducer 14, use the presenter subsystem. A sponsor 16 also may use thepresenter subsystem. In operation, the instructor 12 presents thematerials using presenter subsystem 10 to the audience subsystem 30 viathe backbone subsystem 20. The producer 14 acts as a “producer” of theevent and facilitates the learning process from the presenter subsystemviewpoint, and enhances the teaching and also controls the collaborativelearning environment. According to one embodiment of the invention, thepresentation may be approximately ninety minutes in length followed by asponsor demonstration of approximately ten minutes in length. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that the length of thepresentation as well as the length of the sponsor demonstration mayvary. Subsequent to the event, there may be an off-line discussionbetween the presenter and/or the producer, and the audience. Inaddition, the event, including the sponsor demonstration, may bearchived or stored for later on demand retrieval and review by a user ofthe audience subsystem 30 or a person who is not physically presentduring the collaborative learning event.

The backbone subsystem 20 comprises a telephone conferencing facility24, also referred to as a telephone communications connection, and acomputer network (not shown), also referred to as a computer networkconnection, which is preferably the worldwide web, as well as a web site22. All of these elements are accessible by both the presenter subsystem10 and the audience subsystem 30. The web site 22 provides a platformfor delivering dynamic visuals which may include slides or other visualpresentation materials as well as audiovisual presentation materials inthe form of streaming video. In addition, questions and answers also maybe presented via the web site 22 as can audience polling, use of anelectronic white board as well as worldwide web tours and productdemonstrations. The telephone conferencing facility 24 of the backbonesystem 20 provides a platform for dynamic instruction with the liveaudience. The audio portion of the collaborative learning event, in thepreferred embodiment, takes place over the telephone 24. This portion ofthe collaborative learning event may also include interaction such asquestions that may be presented by the remote audience and answers tothe questions that are provided by the instructor. In the preferredembodiment, the questions are actually submitted to the presenter viathe web site 22 and the answers are provided via the telephone 24.Nonetheless, it will be understood by those of skill in the art thatquestions and answers may be presented via one of, or both of, the website 22 and the telephone 24. It also will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the network used may be a single networkcombining both voice, which in the preferred embodiment using currenttechnology is provided over the telephone 24, and video and data, whichin the preferred embodiment using current technology are provided overthe worldwide web. Still further, it will be understood that the networkmay be a private network, a public network or a combination of a privateand public network.

Audience subsystem 30 comprises one or more audience locations. Eachaudience location may, for example, be a conference room, in which atleast one audience member is present. The audience subsystem 30typically may have one or more processors, a data storage device, adisplay device and an input device. A facilitator also may be present ineach remote audience location to assist with the event from the audiencesubsystem 30 viewpoint. The audience facilitator assists with theaudience in terms of setting up the connections with the presentersubsystem 10 via the backbone subsystem (e.g., over the worldwide web(not shown) and the telephone conferencing facility 24) and otherwiseassists in managing the collaborative learning event from the audiencesubsystem perspective.

Through the architecture, audiences gain access to collaborativelearning events. This process enables not just a live event and anarchived event, but also events which improve the collaborative learningprocess and discussion.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the collaborative learning system, method andcomputer program product 50 according to the present invention may becategorized into three components, namely, the pre-event module 60,event module 70 and post-event module 80. During pre-event 60, theproducer and the presenter work in combination to prepare thepresentation or learning materials to be used during the event. As partof this process, the producer helps to optimize the content and “coach”the presenter. In addition, instructions are provided to thefacilitators that will be present at the audience subsystem during theevent. The instructions relate to control of the audience subsystemduring the event.

During event 70, the learning or presentation materials are delivered bythe presenter. The learning or presentation materials may includelectures, audiovisual materials which may be delivered in the form ofstreaming video, web pages, visual materials in the form of slides orother images which are associated with, and coordinated with, thestreaming video and audio. In the preferred embodiment, the audioportion of the event content is transmitted from the presenter subsystem10 via the telephone portion 24 of the backbone subsystem 20. The visualportion of the event such as slides and streaming video is presented tothe audience using “push” technology via the worldwide web (not shown)of the backbone system 20. The audience, using the audience subsystem30, views the learning materials via web site 22 over the worldwide web.The association of, and coordination of, the slides and otheraudiovisual materials such as web pages, with the streaming video servesto improve and enhance the learning experience. The presenter may alsouse “white boarding” to assist in the presentation of the learning andpresentation materials.

During event 70, the audience, using the audience subsystem, presentsquestions to the presenter. The questions may be presented over theInternet or the worldwide web 22. The producer, using the presentersubsystem 10, screens the questions and introduces acceptable questionsto the presenter. In addition, the audience also may present questionsto the producer using electronic mail or the telephone. The questionsmay request that the reply from the presenter be provided privately tothe individual audience member or to all audience members located at aspecific location or to all audience members participating in the event.In addition, the presenter can poll the audience and can even have a“chat” over the worldwide web with the audience while showing slides,streaming video or other content to the audience. As a result, in eitherembodiment, the present system permits live, real time interactionbetween the audience and the presenter in a controlled learningenvironment.

Alternatively, the audience may present questions to the facilitator,and the facilitator at the audience location may then submit thequestions either by way of the telephone conferencing facility 24,electronic mail or the web site 22, who will receive the questions. Atthe end of the event, the producer 12, separate and apart from thepresenter subsystem 10 and the backbone subsystem 20, can have afollow-up discussion with the remotely located audience.

Finally, during post-event 80, follow-up training materials and learningtools may be created and transmitted or delivered to the audience by theproducer or the presenter using presenter subsystem 10. The trainingmaterials may include an archived copy of the collaborative learningevent which is presented to the audience which participated in the livecollaborative learning event or did not participate in the event, viaweb site 22. The follow-up training materials and learning tools, inaddition to the archived learning event, also includes one or moreactual examples of practical applications of the learnings presented bythe presenter during the event, as well as business studies, casestudies and success stories relating to the learnings as well asdocuments related to the event. The audience may respond to the requestfor case studies by way of electronic mail using the audience subsystem.During post-event 80, the producer and instructor conduct an analysis ofthe case studies received by the producer and instructor using thepresenter subsystem 10 and deliver or transmit the results of the casestudies using the presenter subsystem 10 to the audience 30. Theaudience receives the results of the case studies using the audiencesubsystem or may receive the results via electronic mail. The archivedcopy of the event includes a portion, or alternatively, all of thefollow-up materials and other post-event materials.

Detailed Operation: Collaborative Learning System

Referring to FIG. 4, the collaborative learning system describedgenerally with respect to FIGS. 1-4 will now be explained further. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, in accordance with the pre-event module, theproducer and the presenter (e.g., teacher) prepare the content (e.g.,script of knowledge) for the event at block 100. In addition, theproducer assists the teacher at 102 by helping to optimize the learningmaterials and content so that the learning event may provide theultimate learning experience for the audience. Optimization of thelearning materials and the content includes, for example, categorizationand indexing and other “chunking” of materials as well as coaching ofthe instructor. The teacher or instructor may also conduct a number of“dry runs” at 102 to practice the live event.

In addition, facilitators, who will be located at the audience subsystem30, are selected and provided instruction to enhance the learningexperience at 104. Selection of the facilitators may include anevaluation process. These facilitators assist with the equipment at theaudience subsystem 30 as well as distribution of written materials andeven possibly, in one embodiment, the collection of questions andfeedback to be provided to the presenter. The facilitator may alsoconduct a “dry run” at 106 to practice the event before it actuallytakes place.

During the event, the instructor presents the collaborative learningevent at 108 with the assistance of the producer at the presentersubsystem 10 and the assistance of the facilitator located at theaudience subsystems 30. The event may include not only the presentationof the materials but also live interaction, a question and answerperiod, audience polling, and sponsor product demonstrations.

After the live event has concluded, post-event or follow-up materialsare created and provided to the audience that actually participated inthe event at 110. In addition, individuals that did not attend the eventmay review the event via the web site during the post-event period.Finally, during the post-event, the instructor may analyze the resultsof the live event to improve the next live event to be presented by theinstructor. The instructor may also prepare or request from the audiencecase studies of practical applications of the learnings from the eventand publish the case studies to be presented to the attendees during thepost-event period or publish the case studies via the web site inconnection with the archived event which includes not only an encodedrecorded video of the event, but also related documents, web browsercapabilities and other features to enhance the learning experience.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram from a functional perspective of thecollaborative learning system, method and computer program productdescribed with respect to the pre-event, event and post-event moduleoperations illustrated in FIG. 4. During pre-event 60 (see FIG. 3), theproducer and instructor collaborate in preparing the content at 120, thefacilitator is selected and prepared at 122 and 124. During the event70, the instructor presents the content at 130 assisted by the producerat 132. The event is delivered at 134 to the audience and thefacilitator at 136 enhances the learning event at the audiencesubsystem. Thereafter, during post-event 80 (see FIG. 3), post-eventmaterials 140 including follow-up training materials and case studiesmay be presented to audience participants as well as individuals thatwere not present at 142 and 144. Those individuals that do notparticipate in the live event may use these follow-up materials whenviewing the archived event.

FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 provide an alternative illustration to the pre-event,event and post-event modules. FIG. 6 illustrates a further functionalperspective of the pre-event module of collaborative learning systemaccording to the present invention. In developing the content includingoptimizing the content, the development process includes marketing 200,customer relationship management 210 and production 220. Marketing 200in the development process includes conducting market research at 202 todetermine the needs or requirements of the audience that will beparticipating in the event or viewing the archived event. Once theaudience needs have been determined, they are then analyzed in order toidentify the goals of the client (e.g., the employer of the audience) at204. Thereafter, the classes or content are actually developed at 206.

During this development process, it is also necessary to take intoaccount customer relationship management. Customer relationshipmanagement 210 includes conducting market surveys so that you know yourcustomer at 211. In addition, a hardware check at 212 must be made inorder to insure that the client has the necessary hardware and softwareat the audience subsystem 30 (see FIG. 2) to support the event as wellas the archived event. Customer service questions may be prepared at 213and the customer may also be prepared for the event at 214. Followingpreparation of the customer for the event, additional customer questionsmay also be prepared at 215 in final preparation for use during theevent.

The actual event content also is developed during the pre-event module.Questions (or goals) to be answered by the event are developed at 221followed by designing of “rich media” at 222 for the event. “Rich media”includes video, audio, animation (including moving dynamic graphics andslides that “flip” in coordination with the video), and attentiondrawing interaction and colors. Thereafter, the content is “chunked”into learning objects at 223 to further facilitate the learning process.This “chunking” of the content is part of the content optimizationprocess. In addition, this “chunking” also facilitates ease of retrievalof a portion of the archived copy of the event. Also during pre-event,the instructors are coached in their presentation to improve mannerismsand presentation style at 224 to enhance the learning environmentprovided by the event. Once the majority of the content has beenprepared, the slides are finalized at 225, and a “dry run” of the eventis conducted by the instructor and the facilitator at 226.

Referring to FIG. 7, an alternative illustration of the event modulefrom a further functional perspective is provided. In delivering theevent, the event preferably includes customer relationship management300, talent (instructor delivery) 310 and production 320. As part of thecustomer relationship management 300, high quality customer service 301is provided. Customer service includes receiving questions from thecustomer (i.e., client) or event participants at 301. In addition, anytechnical problems occurring during the event are attended to and fixedat 302. Finally, a “chat” session 303 may be held between the instructorat the presenter subsystem with the audience at the audience subsystem.

Talent or instructor delivery 310 is also crucial to the event delivery.The primary concern is delivering a high quality presentation 311. Theproducer or facilitator at the presenter subsystem supports theinstructor in the delivery of the entire event in order to produce ahigh quality live collaborative learning event.

Finally, the delivery of the event includes the “production” component320. The producer introduces the instructor to the audience and also theaudience to the instructor at 321. The audience delivers questions tothe producer either via e-mail or a chat session at 322. The producerfilters these questions in order to select specific questions for theinstructor from the larger group of questions presented by the audienceto the producer. Once the producer has selected a question, the producersubmits the question to the instructor at 323. In addition, the produceror the instructor continuously chats with the customers at 324 and alsoinvites additional questions from the audience.

Referring to FIG. 8, the post-event module comprises customerrelationship management 400, technology and systems 410, and production420. Customer relationship management 400 provides surveying of theaudience during the post-event period at 401. In addition, a marketingplan is executed at 402 with the permission of the customer in an effortfor the presenter and/or sponsor to obtain valuable marketinginformation as well as marketing inroads. The permission marketingmethod helps to build relationships with prospective or existingcustomers. The relationship is initially built by offering theprospective customer something of value free of charge but with thepermission of the prospective customer and then delivering the servicethat is offered. The results obtained seek to build the relationshipwhile obtaining important information about the prospective customer.Thereafter, discussion forums and chats are monitored with the customersat 403. The presenter and the producer then analyze the results of thesurvey and the discussion forums and provide the results to the audienceor the client (e.g., the employer of the audience) at 404.

During the post-event period, a number of technology and systemsfeatures are enabled at 410. For example, the event is archived forlater retrieval. The archived event may be stored in a number oflocations including on a microsite linked to one or more of thesponsor's web site, the instructor's or presenter's web site, or theclient's (e.g., the audience's employer) web site at 411. In addition,discussion forums may also be set up in connection with the archivedevent at 412, which may be implemented through the microsite.

Finally, the post-event period also includes a production component 420.The producer (or the person or entity acting on behalf of the producer)“chunks” the event and/or events into learning objects at 421. This“chunking” process takes place at 421 during the post-event period;however, this process is facilitated in part by the optimization,including chunking, of the content that occurs during the pre-eventperiod. The chunking of the event may be viewed, at least partially, assimilar to breaking a book into chapters. This “chunking” processenables quick and efficient retrieval of digestible portions of thearchived event. During the post-event period, the recorded live event isencoded for archiving. The recorded event may be in the form of anaudiovisual recording which is then digitally encoded at 422. Also,additional materials such as the case studies and other follow-up andpost-event materials are combined with the encoded recorded video of theevent to create the archive at 423. Thereafter, the archived event isstored on a microsite or other web site at 424. As a result of thearchiving of the event and related documents, the event as well asportions of the event may be easily retrieved, on demand, to reinforcelearning that occurred during the event for event registrants or toallow other individuals that did not attend the event to either view theevent in its entirety or to obtain specific information about specificportions of the event without requiring the review of the event in itsentirety. The archived event may thus be searched, and is also linked tothe web sites of one or more of the producer, the sponsor, the presenterand/or the client (e.g., the employer of the audience). This archivedevent as stored on a web site which is linked to other sites may bereferred to as a “knowledge channel” (see 510 of FIG. 10). Thus, thearchived event stores relevant “rich media” content including theencoded recorded event as well as related documents, other learningmaterials and even searching capabilities to display web pages and othercontent concurrently with the encoded recorded event. As a result of the“chunking,” specific parts of the content may be targeted and quicklyaccessed, on demand, by members of the audience that participated in theevent as well as individuals or entities that did not participate in theevent.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are block diagrams illustrating alternative embodimentsfor the archived event which are available on a microsite or otherstorage medium. As illustrated generally at 551, 552, 553 and 554, theevent can take on a number of different forms or have a number ofdifferent purposes, and not just traditional training. For example, theevent can be used for marketing as indicated generally at 551. Marketingincludes, for example, new product launches, product education,electronic commerce and educational marketing as illustrated at 551 a,551 b, 551 c and 551 d, respectively. In addition, the event can beproduced for purposes of providing sales as generally illustrated at 552and, more particularly, sales training 552 a, virtual sales calls 552 b,product training 552 c or sales conferences 552 d. Still further, theevent can be used for training as illustrated generally at 553. Inparticular, training includes, for example, one or more of benefitsrollout presentations, employee orientation sessions, employee educationseminars, or technical training as illustrated at 553 a, 553 b, 553 cand 553 d, respectively. Finally, as another example of the applicationsfor the event, the event can be used for corporate communications asillustrated generally at 554 and more particularly for dissemination ofCEO messages, broadcasting of press conferences, analyst conferences,and even investor meetings as illustrated at 554 d, 554 c, 554 b and 554a, respectively. These types of events, namely, marketing eventsillustrated at 551 generally, sales events illustrated at 552 generally,training events illustrated at 553 generally, and corporatecommunications events illustrated at 554 generally, can be produced andmade available internally as illustrated at 514 of FIG. 10, i.e.,privately within a client, or externally as illustrated at 512 of FIG.10, on both a live as well as an archived basis.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating the types of formats and thetypes of related documents that comprise the archived event. The contentcontained in the archived event may take on one or more of a number ofdifferent formats. The event itself is archived as an encoded recording.As illustrated at 560 a, this encoded recording is a video recording.The video recording contains audio and video of the entire event,including not only the streaming video of the instructor presenting thelearning session, but also the audio of the event, the slides and theinteraction between the audience and the presenter. The audio segment560 b also may be stored separately from the streaming video of theevent to permit retrieval of only the audio portion of the event. Inaddition, the slides, separate and apart from the audio and streamingvideo, are associated with the microsite at 560 c to permit an audiencemember or other individual to access on demand only the slide portion ofthe event. Finally, during the post-event period, a synopsis of theevent is prepared and stored as text on the microsite as illustrated at560 d. Each type of content is “chunked” to permit easy, on demandretrieval. Each type of content may be accessed by an audience memberthat participated in the event or some other individual, separate andapart from the other types of content contained within the archivedevent stored on the microsite.

The related documents illustrated at 570 generally, which can beincluded in the archived event, also can take on a number of differenttypes or formats. For example, the related documents which are stored aspart of the archived event in connection with the video recording, audiorecording, slides and text may be spreadsheets 570 a, word documents 570b, surveys 570 c, online forms 570 d, web pages accessed through a webbrowser such as Internet Explorer at 570 e, charts or graphs 570 f andeven tests 570 g.

Referring now to FIG. 11, exemplary applications of the system, processand computer program products according to the present invention willnow be described. For example, the present invention may be used toimprove “channel sales” at 600. This is achieved by creating customizedproduct training materials and other content during the pre-eventperiod, which are then presented to the client's partners during theevent and are followed up with the client during the post-event period.The use of the present invention will increase the interest of variouspartners as well as increase the effectiveness and confidence of thevarious partners which ultimately has the result of increasing theclient's sales through its various channels. As a result, the inventionmay be used on a one-to-one basis with specific partners.

The present invention also may be used to provide a series of liveevents at 610. These live events contain “sticky” content which is addedto the client's web site or a microsite that is affiliated and linkedwith the client's web site. The “sticky” content, which has beenoptimized during the pre-event period and chunked during the post-eventperiod, and also contains related documentation that was added duringthe post-event period, creates a highly effective presentation that maybe easily retrieved and reused, either in whole or in part. In addition,it enhances a client's ability to cross-market and cross-sell itsproducts and services. As a result, the present invention will increasesales from various sales channels.

Finally, the system, method and computer program product according tothe present invention may also be utilized in customer training 620. Acustomer may purchase either the live event or the archived event, whichincludes both the recorded live event plus additional content that hasbeen “chunked” and categorized. This archived event, which may beavailable on the customer's web site or on a microsite which is linkedto the customer's web site, provides “rich” media training for employeesand representatives of the customer. The use of this “rich” media intraining improves the customer's efficiency while at the same timeprovides the customer with an easily retrievable and reusable trainingtool.

Referring now to FIGS. 12-20, various different options for presentingthe event to the audience will now be described. FIGS. 12-20 illustratea number of display screens that are created by the producer andpresenter and delivered to the audience using the backbone system 20.These different display screens are categorized into two groups, namely,FIGS. 12-13 and FIGS. 14-20. FIGS. 12-13 illustrate one version of theevent as displayed on a screen over the worldwide web or on a microsite.This display screen includes a number of areas. For example, the screenincludes an area which displays a slide illustrated at 701. In addition,the screen displayed in FIG. 12, which is the screen display viewed bythe audience, also includes an area for the audience to ask questions at702 by typing in a question and then submitting the question to thepresenter. As previously indicated, the question is actually submittedto the producer who then considers the questions and selects specificquestions (e.g., filters the questions) from all of the questionssubmitted for presentation to the presenter or instructor. A listing ofslides may also be displayed at 703. Finally, advertising and otherinformation may be displayed at 704. In addition, the audience canselect the “chat” command 705 and enter a “chat” session with thepresenter.

FIG. 13 illustrates a display screen from the perspective of thepresenter. A slide is displayed at 711 of FIG. 13. This slide can bemodified or deleted and recreated from scratch using the command keysillustrated generally at 717. Similarly, the presenter and producer mayalso create new slides using the controls located at 713. In addition,the presenter can receive questions as illustrated at 712. Further, thepresenter's notes are displayed at 715. The presenter can insert hisnotes as well as modify those notes and display those notes. Thepresenter also can have interactive chat sessions with the audience at718. Various preset feedback responses such as “I Need Help!, ”“I'mGetting Confused,” “I'm OK,” “Keep Going,” or “Go Faster!!” can beprovided at 718 b where a member of the audience can simply click on oneof these feedback responses during a chat session during the event andthis response is provided in real time to the presenter. In addition,the presenter can also poll the audience. The audience poll will bedisplayed in 718 a. Still further, a listing of the slides is displayedto the presenter at 716. The presenter can scroll through this slidelisting. Finally, a place is provided for other information regardingthe conference as well as advertisements for the sponsors at 714.

Referring to FIGS. 14-20, another version of the display screenpresented to the audience during the event as well as during thearchived version of the event is illustrated. The display screen issegmented into areas. The slides are displayed at 731 in the topright-hand area. The encoded audio/video recording of the event isdisplayed at 732 in the top middle of the display screen. Advertisementsand other logos of sponsors and presenters as well as links to other websites or brand partner may be displayed in the top left area of thedisplay screen at 733. A number of tabs are provided in the lower leftarea at 734 which provide options for displaying a list of classes,documents or tools or a search template. In the example displayed inFIG. 14, the classes contained in the archived event are listed in thebottom left area. The user may select any one of these classes, whichwill result in the archived revision of the class being run on themicrosite. A web browser is also provided in the bottom right quadrantat 735. The audience may view web pages or other documents in thisquadrant. A user of the microsite may enter an address in the addressblock at 736 to access the particular web site. In addition, typicalbrowser keys including forward, backward, stop and printer are providedto the microsite user at 737.

FIG. 15 illustrates a display screen with the “Docs” tab having beenselected at 734 a. The user can select a particular document containedin the list of documents and cause this document to be displayed in area735 during access to the microsite. FIG. 16 illustrates the displayscreen when a user has selected the “Sample Business Plan” document fromthose listed at 734 a. As a result, the “Sample Business Plan” documentis disclosed to the user at 735 a on the display screen.

Referring to FIG. 17, the archived event from the perspective of theuser of the microsite is illustrated when the user selects a particularweb address to browse. In this example, the microsite user has entered aweb address at 736 a. As a result, the web page located at the enteredweb address is displayed at 735 b for viewing by the user during use ofthe microsite. The web browser utilized to implement this component ofthe present invention can be any of those which are generally availablein the industry. Upon selection of the “Oak Investment Partners” entryin the web page displayed at 735 b of FIG. 17, the Oak InvestmentPartners web page is displayed to the user as illustrated at 735 c ofFIG. 18. Consistent with most browsers, the address in the address blockchanges to the address for the Oak Investment Partners web site asillustrated at 736 c of FIG. 18.

The user of the microsite may also select the tool tab from the lowerarea at 734. In the example illustrated in FIG. 19, selection of the“tools” tab results in the list of a number of tools at 734 b which theuser of the microsite may select. These tools allow the user to selectdifferent “chunks” of the archived event.

Finally, the user of the microsite may desire to search the variousarchived events located at this particular microsite. This isaccomplished by the user selecting the “search” tab illustrated at FIG.20. Selection of this tab will present to the user a number of optionsat 734 c for selecting the particular events which the user may wish toreview or to even search or browse the Internet.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed:
 1. A collaborative learning event system, saidsystem comprising: a pre-event module, said pre-event module comprisingmeans for preparing an event for delivery over a backbone system to aremote audience; an event module, said event module comprising means fordelivering the event over the backbone system to the remote audience;and a post event module, said post event module comprising means forcreating follow-up training materials and for delivering the follow-uptraining materials to at least one of a member of the audience and anindividual that is not a member of the audience.
 2. A system accordingto claim 1 wherein the event comprises audio content and visual content.3. A system according to claim 1 wherein the event comprises streamingvideo and slides.
 4. A system according to claim 1 wherein said eventcomprises a video, said video comprising at least one of audio content,visual content, slides and an event summary.
 5. A system according toclaim 1 wherein said event comprises an archived copy of said event. 6.A system according to claim 1 wherein said backbone system comprises atleast one of a computer network and a telephone network.
 7. A systemaccording to claim 1 wherein said pre-event module further comprisesmeans for designing the event and for optimizing the event.
 8. A systemaccording to claim 2 wherein the pre-event module further comprisesmeans for chunking the audio content and visual content.
 9. A systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the event module comprises means forreceiving questions from the audience.
 10. A system according to claim 9wherein the event further comprises means for filtering at least onequestion from a plurality of questions.
 11. A system according to claim9 wherein the event module further comprises means for providing aresponse to at least one of the received questions to at least onemember of the audience.
 12. A system according to claim 1 wherein theevent module comprises means for polling the audience and means forpresenting results of the polling to the audience.
 13. A systemaccording to claim 9 wherein the receiving means comprises one of atelephone, web site and electronic mail.
 14. A system according to claim1 wherein said post event module further comprises means for receivingat least one response to the follow-up training materials from at leastone of the audience.
 15. A system according to claim 1 wherein thefollow-up training materials comprise at least one of a case study, anarchived copy of the event and a document related to the event.
 16. Asystem according to claim 1 wherein the preparing means comprises meansfor encoding a video of the event and storing the encoded event video ona microsite.
 17. A system according to claim 1 wherein the creatingmeans comprises means for encoding a video of the event and storing theencoded event video on a microsite.
 18. A system according to claim 14wherein the archived copy of the event comprises at least one of anencoded video of the event, an audio version of the event, slides usedduring the event, and a summary of the event.
 19. A system according toclaim 5 wherein the archived copy of the event comprises at least one ofan encoded video of the event, an audio version of the event, slidesused during the event, and a summary of the event.
 20. A systemaccording to claim 16 wherein the preparing means comprises means forcreating additional documents related to the event and storing thecreated additional documents on a microsite in association with theencoded event video.
 21. A system according to claim 17 wherein thecreating means comprises means for creating additional documents relatedto the event and storing the created additional documents on a micrositein association with the encoded event video.
 22. A method for conductinga collaborative learning event, said method comprising the steps of:preparing an event for delivery over a backbone system to a remoteaudience; delivering the event over the backbone system to the remoteaudience located remotely from the production of the event; creatingfollow-up training materials to the event; and delivering the follow-uptraining materials to at least one of a member of the audience and anindividual that is not a member of the audience.
 23. A method accordingto claim 22, wherein said event comprises audio content and visualcontent.
 24. A computer program product for conducting a collaborativelearning event, the computer program product comprising: a computerreadable storage medium having computer readable code means embodied insaid medium, said computer readable code means comprising: computerinstruction means for producing an event for delivery over a backbonesystem to a remote audience; computer instruction means for deliveringthe event over a backbone system to the remote audience; computerinstruction means for creating follow-up training materials to theevent; and computer instruction means for delivering the follow-uptraining materials to at least one of a member of the audience and anindividual that is not a member of the audience.
 25. A computer programproduct according to claim 24 wherein said event comprises audio contentand visual content.
 26. A method for conducting a collaborative learningevent, the method comprising the steps of: preparing an event fordelivery over a backbone system to a remote audience; optimizing theevent to be delivered to the remote audience; providing to a facilitatorlocated with the remote audience instructions relating to the event;delivering the event to the remote audience; and providing follow-upmaterials and communications to the audience subsequent to the learningevent.
 27. A method according to claim 26 further comprising the step ofreceiving over one of a telephone communications connection and acomputer network connection questions from the remote audience.
 28. Amethod according to claim 26 further comprising the step of creating anencoded video of the event wherein the encoded video can be accessed ondemand.